Pregnant And Diabetic, Artificial Pancreas Makes It Safer

Women with Type 1 diabetes can have safer pregnancies with the help of an artificial pancreas

For women with type 1 diabetes, having a baby is not an easy decision. Type 1 diabetes stops the pancreas from producing insulin, making it really risky to give birth.

Babies are 5 times more likely to be still born in women with type 1 diabetes, and are 3 times more likely to die within months of their birth. Plus they are at major risk for deformity. It’s also risky for the mother, as low blood glucose is the leading cause of death in pregnant women.

A new study might be changing all those risks. An artificial pancreas could reduce the risks to those pregnant moms. The device was shown to keep the blood sugar levels under control and even prevent fatal complications to the pregnant woman.

The artificial pancreas is a small, mobile phone sized device that is worn on the hip. It is a continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump. It keeps track of levels and makes sure sugar levels are appropriate at all times.

This pump has been known to help children with diabetes, but it’s not until recently that they discovered it also helped pregnant women.

Iain Frame, who is the director of research at Diabetes UK said, “It’s a fantastic example of how existing technologies, in this case, insulin pumps and CGMs, can be adapted and developed to benefit as many people with diabetes as possible. We now need to see an extension of this study, one which tests larger numbers of women, and then take it out of the hospital and into the home setting.”